Skate



A. E. MURRAY Feb. 26, 1951 SKATE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 15, 1945INVENTOR Alan E. MZIJ'I' A. E. MURRAY Feb, 20, 1951 SKATE 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed Jan. 15, 1945 ("1" ATTORNEQ INVENTOR Alan E.Murl'a are supportedon the skate.

The leather layers l2 and I3.

therefore, the skate elements 6 and are designed to give more elevationto the heel tion of the foot. Each of said skate elements 6 and i iscomprised of a longitudinal plate M which is fastened by rivets |5 toits plate.

lindrical stud it? having a screw-threaded hole |1 therein and which isprovided, for strengtheningpurpo'ses, with webs Hi and IS. A long screw26 is screw-threaded in the stud l6. Immediately below the stud I6 thescrew passes through the front end of a leather strap 2|, and beneaththis there is a lock nut 22 on said screw 20. Beneath the lock nut 22there is a metal washer 23 adjacent to an annular rubber cushion 24,beneath which there is located a perforated car 25 integral with aT-shaped cylindrical bracket 26, through which an axle 21 passes tosupport a pair of front rollers 28 and 29 in the same way as a pair ofrear rollers 30 and 3| Beneath the car 25 there are a rubber washer 3|aand a metal washer 3|?) adjacent to the head of the screw 20.Screw-threaded on the axle 21, at each end of the T-shaped bracket 26,there is a nut 32 for holding the axle 21 tightly in the bracket 26.Outside of the nuts 32 there are carried the wooden skate rollers 28 and29, which are provided with two annular ball races 33 and 34 providedwith circular sets of balls 35 and 36 to provide ball bearings, theballs of which are retained in place by the nuts 32 on the inner facesof the wooden rollers 28 and, 29 and nuts 31 onthe outer faces thereof,which are also screw-threaded to the axle 21. Lock nuts 38 on the endsof the axle 21 hold the nuts 31 in locked position. Furthermore, theT-shaped axle bracket 23 has a diagonal arm support 39 which extendsupwardly and is provided with a short pin which passes into a rubberwasher 4| which is supported upon an inclined projection 42 forming apart of the plate 14 and which is provided with a hole 43 to receive theshort pin 48. As shown in Fig. 7, the strap 2| may beprovided with afront hole 44 and a rear hole 45 for connection with the two skateelements 6 and. 1 described above.

However, as shown in Fig. 6, instead of the strap 2| I may provide aturn-buckle rod 46 having at the two ends thereof screw-threaded rods 41and 48 which have, respectively, spherical heads 49 and 53 to bereceived in universaljoint sockets 5! and 52, which have screwthreadedthereon annular retaining caps 53 and 54. Nuts 55 and 55 on theserods'41 and 48, respectively, have, together with said rods 41 and 48,right and left-hand screw-threads to cooperate with a similarlyscrew-threaded turnbuckle 51. Also, in this instance there are shownleather washers 58 between the nuts 22 and the metal Washers 23 tocompensate vertically for the thickness of therubber washers 4|, andmaintain the desired angularity of the diagonal support 39. V

In the operation of my invention, it will be understood that the shoeparticularly the solev or pad 2 thereof, is not only provided with aconsiderable degree of elasticity, due to. the packof the foot than isprovided at the front por- Fur- V thermore, formed on the plate Hi thereis a cy-.

4 ing 3 and the rubber or other elastic material enclosing the saidpacking 3, but is also capable of considerable torsional movement,respectively, between the front and rear ends of the pad on a horizontalaxis. In skating with the skates constructed'in accordance with myinvention, :7 are mounted on a yieldable mounting so that when the footis depressed at one side of the skate,

this will cause a turning of the axle 21 in a horizontal are on theinclined axis of the arm 39, thus giving turning movement to the skate.In addition thereto, in the skate made in accordance with my invention,various other movements are effected while skating. For instance, theturning movement referred to astaking place at the front of the skatecan be different from' the turning'movement attained by the rear. of theskate, due to the torsional flexibility of the shoe and pad 2 simulatingthe torsional movement of the respective parts of. the foot normally.Also, a very important movement of which my skates are capable is thatthe two skate elements 3 and 1 may move laterally'as a whole with regardto each other, even without a turning movement, due to their independentmounting and the flexibility of the shoe I and pad 2. different portionsof the two skate elements 6 and 1 are capable of different relativeelevations from the floor, while, supported from the latter; Also, thetwo elements are, furthermore, capable of relative rotation as a wholeon horizontal;

transverse axes of the foot above the axles 21, due to the bendabilityof the pad 2. Likewise,

the two elements 6 and 1 are capable of moving" towards each other as awhole, due to thefiexibility of the strap 2| and to the looseconnectionof the turn-buckle bar 46 therewith. In the case of theleather strap 2!, the two elements 6 and 1 are capable of slightrelative movement as a whole away from each other longitudinally, due tothe elasticity of the strap. Also, it will be noted that the noise inskating is greatly reduced by reason of the skate elements 5 and 1- notbeing mounted on a single plate'to act asv a sounding board, but,instead, are mounted on the yieldable pad 2 of the shoe. The eliminationof the noise is further greatly aided by rea son of the rubber washersSM and the rubber washers 4 I in that it will be noted that the axles 21and T-shaped brackets 26 in which they are carried are effectivelyfloated on theyielding,

elastic, rubber cushions 24', 3|a, and 4| from the' plates l4 and theplates 8 and it, which in turn are supported upon the elastic pad 2comprised of a casing of elastic rubber or other similar materialsenclosing the elastic packing of cot-f ton linters or fibrous material.

In skating with the'said skates, it is found that on account of the factthat'the skate freely and effectively accommodates itself to theunevennesses in the floor, a better traction is obtained between theskate and the floor, thus per- Furthermore, for similarreasonsthe' ofthe foot while applied to the skate. Besides, the skating equipment islight in weight, notwithstanding the flexible and elastic qualitiesthereof, because of the use of the packing in the pad 2 which eliminatesthe necessity oi heavy thick, rubber soles. In other words, thesole,comprising the pad 2, is as elastic a-S rubber, but much lighter. .Also,the sound in skating is practically eliminated becausethe rollers 28,29, 3i, and 3| are practically floated on rubber supports and, besides,are not connected together by any unitary plate to act as a soundingboard. The self-alignment feature also conduits to thee) sence of noise.In effect, the skatesmade in accordance with my invention avoidbindingthe foot to what amounts to a splint, which was previouslynecessary with the skates, as hitherto made. In skating with my skates,thus, theskate in reality moves with and is capable of substantially thesame motions as the foot in its natural movements.

While I have described my invention above in detail, it is to beunderstood that many changes may be made therein without departing Iromthe spirit of the same. For instance, in my skates, a correct mountingthereof of the sole can be attained as the respective elements can beplaced directly beneath the ball and heel of the foot, respectively.Also, the inclinations of the two studs 16 can be made differently tothe ball and heel of the shoe, respectively, according to the angle ofthe supporting sole portions, so as to attain different turning.movements thereby, if desired.

I claim:

1. A skate comprising front and rear rollers mounted, respectively, onskate elements carried by shoe-attaching plates which are independentlymountable on a shoe and independently yieldable as a whole verticallywith regard to each other, said elements having means connecting themtogether for relative yielding rotation below the level of, the shoemounting in the form of an adjustable rod universally-jointed with eachof-saidelements. F a I 2. In combination, ashoe' having ja'fiexible soleand a skate comprising front and rear rollers mountable on the flexiblesole, respectively, on skate elements which are independently yieldableas a whole vertically with regard to each other, said elements havingmeans connecting them together for relative yielding rotation below thelevel of the shoe mounting in the form. of. an adjustable roduniversally-jointed with. each of said elements.

' 3. In combination, a shoe having located at the bottom of the shoe askate comprising front and rear rollers, respectively, on skate elementscarried by shoe-attaching plates connected together by universal jointsseparated by a turnbuckle,

each of said skate elements having an axle, apair of rollers, an axlebracket laterally tiltable with regard to its plate, rubber pieces aboveand below said bracket, and forward and rearward connections to theshoe-attaching plate separated from the axlebracketior relative tiltablemovement with regard to the axle bracket by said pieces of rubber.

4. A skate comprising front and rear rollers mounted, respectively, onskate elements carried by shoe-attaching plates which are independentlymountable on a shoe and independently yieldable as a whole verticallywith regard to each other, said elements having means connecting themtogether for relative yielding rotation below ill 6 the level of theshoe mounting in the form of adjustable rod longitudinally of the skate.universally-jointed with each of said elements.

5. A skate comprising front and rear rollers mounted, respectively, onskate elements carried by shoe-attaching plates which are independentlymountable on a shoe and independently yieldable as a whole verticallywith regard to each other, said elements having means connecting themtogether for relative yielding rotation below the level of the shoemounting in the form of an adjustable rod universally-jointed with eachof said elements, the said elements being independentiy movable as awhole by relative movemen bodily in lateral directions, respectively.

6. In combination, a shoe having a flexiblesole and a skate comprisingfront and rear rollers mountable on the flexible sole, respectively, onskate elements which are independentlyyieldable as a whole verticallywith regard to each other and rotatable differentially with regard toeach other in a horizontal plane, said elements having means connectingthem together for relative yielding rotation below the level of the shoemounting in the form of an adjustable rod universally-jointed with eachof said elements.

7. In combination, a shoe having a flexible sole and a skate comprisingfront and rear roll ers mountable on the flexible sole, respectively, onskate elements which are independently yieldable as a whole verticallywith regard to each other and rotatable differentially with regard toeach other on a horizontal axis, said elements having means connectingthem together for relative-yielding rotation below the level of the shoemounting in the form of an adjustable rod universally-jointed with eachof said elements.

8. A skate comprising front and rear rollers mounted, respectively, onskate elements carried by shoe-attaching plates which are independentlymountable on a shoe and independently yieldable as a whole verticallywith regard to each other, said elements being also connected togethor.for relative yielding rotation by a spacing element universally jointedwith said elements.

' '9. Inicombination, a shoe having a flexible sole and. a skatecomprising front and rear rollers V mountableon the flexible sole,respectively, on

skate elements which are independently yieldable as a whole verticallywith regard to each other, saidielements being also connected together.for relative yieldin rotation by spacing element universally-jointedwith said elements.

10 .A skate comprising front and rear rollers mounted, respectively, onskate elements carried byshoe-attaching plates which are independentlymountable on a shoe and independently yieldable with regard to eachother, said elements being connected together for relative yieldingrotation by a yieldably rotatable spacing clement pivoted at its endstosaid skate elements respectively.

11. In combination, a shoe having a flexible sole and a skate comprisingfront and rear rollers mountable on the flexible sole, respectively, onskate elements which are independently yield able with regard to eachother, said elements being connected together for relative yieldingrotation by a yieldably rotatable spacing element pivoted at its ends tosaid skate elements respectively.

12. A skate comprising front and rear rollers mountable, respectively,on skate elements which are independently yieldable with regard to each75 other, said elements being connected together aha-eat by a yieldingspacing element in the form'of a leather strap. I Y

13. In combination, a shoe having a flexible sole and a skate comprisingfront and rear roller smountable on the sole, respectively, on skateelements which are independently yieldable with regar d to each other,said elements being connected together by a'yielding spacing element inthe form of a leather strap. 7 I w 14. A skate comprising front and rearrollers mountable, respectively, on skate elements which areindependently yieldable with regard to each other, said elements beingconnected together for relative yielding rotation by a spacing elementin the form of a turn-buckle rod rotatably connected with each of saidelements. 7

15. In combination, a shoe having a flexible sole and a skate comprisingfront and rear rollers mountable'on the sole, respectively, on skateelements which are independently yieldable with regard to each other,said elements being connected together for relative yielding rotation by"shoe, each of said elements comprising an axle,

having an axle bracket, on which the rollers are carried, and an elasticconnection between the I axle and said plate, said elastic connectioncomw-prising a stud having a yielding connection to "the" axle in theform of rubber pieces, a screw extending into the stud supporting saidrubber (pieces on'the opposite sides of the axle bracket and an angularsupport separated from the plate by an elastic member.

20. A skate comprising front and rear rollers mounted, respectively,'onskate elements carried by shoe-attaching plates which are independentlymountable on a shoe and independently yieldmounted, respectively, onskate elements carried able with'regard' to each other, said elementshaving means yieldable rotatably in all directions connecting themtogether below the level of the each of said elements comprising an axleon which the rollers are carried, and an elastic connection, comprisingan elastic support and a separate different yielding pivotal support,between the axle and said plate, said elastic support comprising an axlebracket floated between rubber pieces connected to said plate. 17. Askate comprising front and rear rollers mounted, respectively, on skateelements carried by shoe-attaching, plates which are independentlymountable on a shoe and independently yieldable with regard to eachother, said elements having means, yieldable rotata-bly in alldirections, connecting them together below the level of the shoe, eachof said elements comprising :an axle on which the rollers are carried,and an elastic connection between the axle and said plate, said elasticconnection comprising a pivot stud for said means having ayieldingconnec- ,tion to the axle in the form of a rodhaving thereonrubber pieces carrying between them a member connected by said rubberpieces and rod to the stud. j

18. A skate comprising front and rear rollers mounted, respectively, onskate elements carried by shoe-attaching plates which are independentlymountable on a shoe and independently yieldable with regard to eachother, said elements ,having means, yieldable rotatably in alldirecshoe, each of said elements comprising an axle, having an axlebracket, on which the rollers are carried, and an elastic connection"betweenthe axle and said plate, said elastic connection comprising astud having a yielding connection to the axle in the form of rubberpieces, a screw extending into the stud supporting said rubber pieces onthe opposite sides of the. axle bracket and an angular support separatedfrom the plate ,by an elastic member having a pin and socket connectionwith said plate.

ALAN E. MURRAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 88,711 Hodgson Apr. 1869 131,2348 Todd Sept. 10, 1872 243,761 Cox July 5, 1881 287,820 Gallaher Nov. 6,1883 328,332 Naylor, Jr Oct. 13, 1885 337,146 Gluecksmann Mar. 2, 1886457,129 Masterson Aug. 4, 1891 617,996 Ruel Jan. 17, 1899 892,164 KingJune 30, 1908 1,587,749 Bierly June 8, 1926 2,164,805 Ecton July 4, 19392,300,477 Whitcomb, Jr., et al. Nov. 3, 1942 2,310,683 Enley Feb. 9,1943 2,330,338 Dekome et al. Sept. 28,1943

. FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Great Britain Oct. 21,1909

